Dapper Character Analysis

Face and Subtle’s first victim. Dapper is a law clerk, and he is exceedingly gullible. When he arrives to see Subtle—who Dapper thinks is an alchemist and mystic—he is nearly late because he lent his watch to a thief the night before. Dapper is looking for a “familiar,” a piece of alchemical magic to give him luck at cards and gambling, and he is hoping Subtle will help him. Subtle agrees but informs Dapper he must first meet the “Fairy Queen” (who is really Doll in disguise), so he orders Dapper home to complete the necessary ritual. Dapper must fast, apply vinegar to his nose and eyes, wash the tips of his fingers, and “hum” and “buzz” three times. Dapper rushes home to complete the ritual, and when he returns later to meet the Fairy Queen, Face and Subtle dress him in a petticoat and strip him of all his valuables. They blindfold him and run around him with Doll, pinching him and pretending to be the Queen’s fairies. When Mammon shows up unexpectedly, they gag Dapper with a rag and piece of gingerbread and shove him in the bathroom. Dapper remains locked in the bathroom until he eats through his gag and finds Face in trouble with Lovewit. Dapper, however, is still looking to meet the Fairy Queen and get his familiar, so Doll dresses up in a fairy costume and dupes him out of even more money. As the Fairy Queen, Doll gives Dapper a bird and tells him to let some blood out with a pin once a week for good luck. She then promises to leave him trunks full of treasure and “some twelve thousand acres of Fairyland.” Duped again and again, Dapper represents gullibility in The Alchemist. He easily falls for Subtle and Face’s con, and he subjects himself to ridiculous rituals just to get the familiar. Furthermore, Dapper wants alchemical magic to help him win “all the games,” not just some or even most of them. Like the other characters, Dapper is greedy and willing to do whatever it takes to get ahead, but this attitude only sets him back further.